Post navigation

Jean Larremore will indeed lead trips to on her ranch on Tuesday, October 18 and Tuesday October 25.

This last week, I’ve been on the South Larremore Ranch, the Ritchie Ranch, and the Singleton Ranch. There’s lots of new agate visible on all three ranches. We’ve had lots of rain in the last few months, and that’s at least partly responsible for uncovering new pieces.

At the South Larremore Ranch, there were a few muddy spots in the creek bottom, but very few puddles (and all of them were small enough to really call puddles). The mud at the crossing was too deep and sloppy to attempt the crossing in a car, but we walked across it (after I slipped and fell on my butt, of course). By the time the day was over, Brian Larremore had used the tractor and made the crossing good enough that we would have been able to drive it. However, since then it has rained for two solid days here in Alpine, and I have no idea how much rain they got down there.

On the big Fall hunts schedule, I got two of the starting times wrong. They are corrected below:

November

Th

17

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 7 a.m.

December

S

24

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Or, to put it another way, the starting times for all Fall field trips will be:

East Needle Peak and Stillwell Ranch: 7 a.m.

Singleton Ranch, and South Larremore Ranch: 8 a.m.

Ritchie Ranch: 9 a.m.

The Larremore Ranch and the South Larremore Ranch mentioned in the field trip list are the same place. But the South Larremore Ranch is not the same as the old Larremore Ranch that we hunted back in about 2006. The South Larremore Ranch is very productive with lots of unusual agates in addition to those similar to the Alpine agates and the agates from the Needle Peak area. If this is confusing, just remember that all the Larremore ranch field trips on the Fall schedule are to the same wonderful ranch.

I neglected to mention in the email that, if no one has signed up for a field trip a week before the date of the trip, the trip will be cancelled. I know this makes it difficult for people who make last-minute trips to the Big Bend, but in previous years I spent a lot of time preparing for field tips just in case someone wanted to attend who hadn’t signed up. My schedule this year is too tight to allow me to do that.

Thank you all for bearing with me. I’ve only been doing this for 15 years or so. I should know what to put in an email by now!

The big schedule below covers scheduled rockhunts for September through December, 2016.

September, 2016

F

16

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

17

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

20

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

W

21

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

22

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

23

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

24

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

25

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

26

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

October, 2016

Th

6

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

15

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Su

16

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

M

17

Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

18

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

19

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

20

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

25

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

26

Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

27

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

28

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

29

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

Su

30

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

M

31

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 7 a.m.

November, 2016

W

9

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

10

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

11

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

12

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

13

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

14

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

Tu

15

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

16

S. Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

17

Stillwell Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

20

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

M

21

S. Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

22

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

W

23

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

24

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

December, 2016

Tu

6

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

7

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

8

Mule Deer Season: Special South Larremore Ranch hunt

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Th

15

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

16

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

S

17

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

18

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

19

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

20

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

21

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Th

22

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

23

East Needle Peak

Start Time: 7 a.m.

S

24

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Su

25

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

M

26

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

Tu

27

Larremore Ranch with Jean Larremore

Start Time: 8 a.m.

W

28

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

Th

29

South Larremore Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

F

30

Ritchie Ranch

Start Time: 9 a.m.

S

31

Singleton Ranch

Start Time: 8 a.m.

The prices for the ranches are unchanged from last year: The Ritchie Ranch is $10 entrance fee per person and $1 per lb. for the agate you take; the South Larremore Ranch is $40 per person if I take you, and $50 per person if Jean or Brian Larremore take you; the Singleton Ranch is $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments), and East Needle Peak is $40 per person. On all of these ranches, kids under 12 hunt free, but their rocks count in the total you pay for. The Stillwell Ranch has no admission fee and charges 50 cents per pound for good rocks. The price for the Rollin’ Rock club membership, which is required for my hunts, is also unchanged at $10 per calendar year for a single membership and $16 per calendar year for a dual membership. And the price for my guide services is still the same: free, but you can give me a gratuity if you feel so inclined.

All trips begin in front of the office at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90 in Alpine. However, if you’re staying someplace that is closer to the hunt site than Alpine is, let me know and I’ll try to make arrangements to meet you someplace along the route.

Hi Y’all! I’ve gotten lots of responses from rockhunters concerning the schedule in October. Although I had several requests for changes, I had lots of people sign up for most of the trips, so I’ve decided to keep the schedule as it is. I’ll certainly keep your suggestions in mind for the rest of the Fall schedule, which will be coming out in another email very soon.

The prices for the ranches are also unchanged from last year: The Ritchie Ranch is $10 entrance fee and $1 per lb. for the agate you take; the South Larremore Ranch is $40 per person if I take you, and $50 per person if Jean or Brian Larremore take you; the Singleton Ranch is $50 per person, which gets you up to a 5-gallon bucket of agate (if you find more it’s $40 per bucket, charged in ¼ bucket increments), and East Needle Peak is $40 per person. The Stillwell Ranch has no admission fee and charged 50 cents per pound for good rocks. The price for the Rollin’ Rock club membership, which is required for my hunts, is also unchanged at $10 per calendar year for a single membership and $16 per calendar year for a dual membership. And the price for my guide services is still the same: free, but you can give me a gratuity if you feel so inclined.

So here’s the October schedule, with the addition of starting times. All trips begin in front of the office at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90 in Alpine. However, if you’re staying someplace that is closer to the hunt site than Alpine is, let me know and I’ll try to make arrangements to meet you someplace along the route.

Wow! It’s been almost a month since the April rockhunts, and I’ve been practicing sleeping in late and being incommunicado . But now, in a small flurry of activity, I’m going to send out an email!

I had a great time leading all the spring rockhunts, and I think everyone that attended had a good time as well.

I found some incredible agate, especially at the Singleton Ranch and the South Larremore Ranch. I am very pleased with the variety and quality of agate found at the South Larremore Ranch, and just a little bit puzzled geologically about how it all got there. But the important thing is that it DID get there, and we can find it in reasonable sizes and quantities for cutting and specimens. And there’s still some of that ranch to be explored.

I saw lots of old friends and made some new ones. As usual, we had people fly and drive in from around the United States, including people from Florida, Virginia, Michigan, Wisconsin, Arkansas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Oregon, and of course all over Texas. Johnny French brought barbecue for the group and we had a fantastic dinner during the April hunts.

In general, the weather cooperated with us, especially in April. It had rained earlier on the Larremore Ranch, however, which left the usually-not-difficult creek crossing a muddy mess. So, twice, we got all hands on deck with shovels and picks, and fixed the crossing so that all the vehicles on the hunt could get across if they chose to. We also ganged up to pile rocks in holes and fix roads on the Singleton Ranch.

We also took several trips to the Stillwell Ranch. I was really happy with the agate I found, and the petrified wood was excellent. You can hunt the Stillwell Ranch on your own if the weather is cool and the roads are dry, but going on a trip with me means I can probably help you find a good spot to hunt and identify what you’ve found in the field, so you don’t pay for rocks you really don’t want. The fee is very reasonable at 50 cents per pound, and of course I don’t charge anything, so the only big expense is your gas. And the Stillwell Store has ice cream bars and cold drinks for an after-rockhunt treat.

I’ve also relearned some lessons that I used to know. I need to take a day off once a week, so that I can catch up on sleep and laundry. I need to be more clear in my instructions, and I need to have samples and maps for every ranch.

I’m closing up for the summer, and probably won’t have any more field trips til the beginning of October. I’d appreciate input from y’all about the schedule, since I tried to cluster more rockhunts together in the middle of the month rather than running several weekends a month like I had last year. Please let me know whether that worked better for you or not, and how you think I can improve the schedules in the future.

I hope to have time to work on the museum this summer, and on the set of photos I’m displaying in my slide show there. If anyone has some photos of the hunt, or of the material you’ve found, whether rough or processed, and wouldn’t mind having me use them in my slide show, please email them to me. I’ll add your name and a copyright line for you, and they won’t be used for anything except the slide show in my museum.

Lastly, I’ve been trying to contact Paul Bowman, who came out on the April field trips for the first time, and his email address is rejecting new messages. If anyone knows him, please tell him to email me! Thanks!

Hi! Below is the complete April rockhunt schedule, including meeting times and costs. All field trips start at the Antelope Lodge, 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine. Rollin’ Rock Club membership is required to attend the hunts. Cost is $10 single/$16 dual membership for the rest of 2016.

It also has been brought to my attention that I forgot to update my calendar when I made changes to the schedule. So what’s on my website doesn’t match what’s here. This email is the correct schedule. I hope to have the time to fix the website very soon.

I went back to the South Larremore Ranch today and did more scouting. There’s lots of neat agate there, scattered over an area that’s at least a square mile in size. Some of the pieces are unlike anything I’ve seen before.

I am sorry to announce that, due to circumstances so far out of my control that they might as well be on the moon, the Walker Ranch rockhunt for April, 2016, has been CANCELLED.

I understand that this last-minute cancellation leaves several of you with money already expended for airline tickets which may not be refundable, and reservations for rental cars and lodging, and in Johnny French’s case, a huge order for food for the rockhound barbecue. I apologize for the cancellation and for the late notice, and I appreciate the difficult situation that puts some of you in. The cancellation hits me financially as well, as rockhounds who choose not to make the trip to Alpine will cancel their reservations at the Antelope Lodge.

I will do all I can to make your trip out here wonderful even if we can’t hunt on the Walker Ranch. There are other options to replace the hunts on the Walker Ranch. In February, when the Walker Ranch rockhunt was cancelled, the group from Florida that came out here still had a wonderful time. Besides going to the four ranches I have normally available for rockhunts (the Ritchie, the South Larremore, the Singleton and East Needle Peak) the group wanted to go down to the Stillwell for a hunt there. I had not been there for many years, and was quite pleasantly surprised by the quantity and quality of material found there. A dozen people went to one place for two days and were still finding great stuff on the hillsides near the cars as the sun went down on the second day. The Stillwell Ranch is huge, and there are many other great locations there that probably haven’t been looked at in a while. So the Stillwell is another fun place that we can consider. And I’m working with the contacts I have here to see whether we can get on another ranch that’s usually not open for rockhunting. I will keep you posted.

Here’s what I would like you to do for me: If you were planning to go to the Walker Ranch, please let me know whether you’ll still come out for the trip, and where you’d like to go on the days you were scheduled for the Walker. I’ll try to create a schedule that makes everyone happy.

There is a new location on the South Larremore Ranch that was only starting to be explored in the fall that is really good. It’s probably a half mile from north to south, and three-quarters of a mile from east to west, and has areas that are beds of stones from pea sized to grapefruit sized. Along with regular rocks, these stones include agate, jasper, chalcedony, quartz crystals, flint, chert, occasional fossils, and now and then an artifact. I believe there’s another, similar bed of rocks north of it, but I haven’t had the chance to explore that area yet. I don’t know if I can get there this week, but I’ll let you know.

ALSO, if anyone wants to come a day early, I’ve added a hunt next Saturday, April 9, to the South Larremore Ranch. Please let me know if you’re interested, and we’ll meet at 8 a.m. at the Antelope Lodge.

Lastly, I want you to know that I will work with the owners of the Walker Ranch to ensure that any future hunts are guaranteed to happen as announced. The cancellation of these two hunts has made it clear to me that safeguards need to be put in place to keep such cancellations from occurring in the future.

Hi! Below is my spring 2016 rockhunt schedule. You’ll find that it looks quite different from last year’s spring schedule. This is because I’m trying to concentrate on the big events: there’s a special Walker Ranch hunt in February, Spring Break in March, and the Big Bend Agate Roundup in April.

But just because I don’t have something scheduled doesn’t mean that it can’t happen. I should still have some time available to schedule special rockhunts for your vacation dates, especially if you let me know early.

The special February Walker Ranch rockhunt is three days long, and I’ve surrounded it with hunts to the other ranches. In March, I’ve organized the two weeks that Texas kids have for spring break to alternate between half-day hunts meant for kids and new rockhounds, and full-day hunts at the Singleton, South Larremore, and East Needle Peak sites. And the Big Bend Agate Roundup in April is more than two weeks long, and organized so the Singleton Ranch hunts and the Walker Ranch hunts are right next to each other, as several people had requested.

The sooner you let me know of your intention to go on a hunt or hunts, the better. Even if your plans are tentative, I would like to know. There is no penalty on any of the ranches for having to change your plans, even on the day of the hunt. But if a hunt doesn’t have anyone signed up for it a week before it is to happen, I’ll cancel it, and probably make other plans for that day (I have several other projects going on this spring…)

One of the questions many rockhunters have is about the weather here in West Texas. For example, right now (Thursday, Dec. 24, 2015) there’s a forecast of snow and very cold temperatures for Sunday. Here’s my accumulated weather wisdom from living in Alpine for 20 years: Weather forecasts are of very little use in determining what the weather will be for a rockhunt.

First, most of ranches are out between the towns, so you need to get the forecast for two or three places and average them to find out what to expect on the ranches. For the Singleton Ranch, you would average the temperatures between Marfa and Presidio. For the South Larremore Ranch you would average the temperature between Alpine and Terlingua. For the Walker Ranch you would again be between Alpine and Terlingua, but the probable weather would be closer to Alpine’s than Terlingua’s. East Needle Peak is between Terlingua and Big Bend National Park, and the Ritchie Ranch is right in Alpine.

Often, when cold fronts are predicted, they may not reach as far south or north as predicted, so a ranch may have weather that’s 20 or more degrees warmer than predicted. Predicted rain does not happen about half the time (it’s a desert, and the moisture often makes the air humid, but It’s not enough to make it rain), and often when it does rain it’s just sprinkles. And very occasionally it rains when it is not predicted.

All of that means that I can’t count on the weather reports here anymore than you can wherever you live.

So here’s the way I handle the weather: If someone drives all the way to Alpine to go rockhunting, I’ll take them out unless it’s pouring rain, snowing, much colder than freezing, or icy. If there has been rain, the muddy roads can be a problem for access to the better hunting areas on a ranch. Bring all kinds of layers so that you can be comfortable from 20 degrees to 70 degrees, and we can probably make it happen. You may need to wash the mud off of your car and your clothes when you get back, in addition to washing it off the rocks, but you’ll have had a fun day nevertheless!

But if the morning weather looks too bad to go out in, the rockhunt participants can wait an hour or two and see if we can start late, or change ranches if possible to one that’s not affected by the rain/snow/ice/cold. I have had days that started out looking terrible end up just wonderful on the ranch, and vice versa.

All rockhunts start at the Antelope Lodge 2310 W. Highway 90, Alpine. To reserve a spot, you can email me at agatehunter@sbcglobal.net, or call me at (432) 386-3431.

Please let me know as soon as you decide that you are coming on a particular rockhunt or set of rockhunts. Even if you are tentatively planning on coming, let me know. If I don’t have anyone signed up for a rockhunt a week before the hunt is to occur, I will cancel the hunt. I may then make other plans for that day and not be available if someone wants me to “un-cancel” the hunt at the last minute.

Also, remember that Rollin’ Rock Club membership is required for all of my rockhunts, and it costs $10 single/$16 dual. If you haven’t joined yet this year, your dues will pay for the rest of 2015 and for the 2016 calendar year.
Regards,